


Keep your head up

by larryahoy



Category: One Direction (Band), Union J (Band)
Genre: Bookstore AU, Fluff, Lovely, M/M, tho not much happens in the bookstore perse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-23
Updated: 2014-02-02
Packaged: 2018-01-05 15:37:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1095707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/larryahoy/pseuds/larryahoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where Harry and George are best mates who work together in a tiny lovely book store where lots of costumers go in everyday, including Louis, the only boy to ever make Harry lose his words, who happens to have a rather fit best friend Josh, who may or may not be everything George ever needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! First time posting here, so I'm kinda nervous, also english is not my first language so sorry for any kind of mistakes. If you're reading this, thank you! and merry christmas (:.

“Ehm, i’ve met someone…” Harry says suddenly, kind of blushing, staring straight into his feet.

“Yeah?” George replies nonchalantly, his focus still on the damn game of FIFA he’s playing with Niall, and he’s not losing okay? He’s just a little behind, he’ll score anytime soon, as soon as Harry stops talking non sense, probably.

“Yeah, and um, yeah you know…” and the hesitant pause on Harry’s voice makes George pause the game and take a look at him. He looks like a child who’s about to beg for a new toy who knows that playing the puppy face card will get him places, which makes lots of sense considering harry has a master in puppy faces.

 _“What?”_ He asks, a little more harshly than intended, but nobody can blame him, it’s bloody obvious Harry is about to ask for something, and it’s _Harry_ , it’s kind of impossible to say no to him, no matter how stupid the request is.

“We have a date and you’re coming with me, so you entertain his friend while I charm his pants off and make him fall hopelessly in love with me” He says in a rush, almost with no space between words, “oh, and we have to be at the restaurant like in 30 minutes, so, get ready, and thanks, love you!” and without further ado, he gets inside of his room to take his whole closet off just to complain about every single piece of clothing he owns and end up wearing the same dumb tight jeans and a white tshirt, leaving a startled George in the living room.


	2. chapter 2

“Harry really, this is _ridiculous_ ” George whispered into Harry’s ear as they were nearing the entrance of the fancy but cozy restaurant. Cause it was, really, it was. George might have a reputation for overreacting but he was right this time. It was, in fact, ridiculous, he didn’t even know them; yes, he has seen Louis more than a bunch of times and has listened to Harry listing every single wonderful thing about him, from his eyes ( _“No but George, have you seem them? Like properly took your time and just look at them? They are bluer than blue. Is that even possible? I think so. Holy God he’s so beautiful”_ ) to limitless praise to his lower body ( _“He came into the shop wearing shorts, shorts George. I almost went into cardiac arrest, I mean, how can he possibly have such amazing legs? I want to sink my teeth in those thigs, and don’t get me started on his bum, sweet lord"_ ) so yeah, he was familiarized with Louis in more ways than he needed to, but the thing was, he didn’t really _knew_ the guy, what it he was some sort of creep? He could be a murderer for all he knew, yes a murderer with great legs, but a murderer nonetheless. And his friend, what was his name again, Johnny? Other creep. So yes, this was a stupid idea and Harry was stupid too, but one look at the hopelessly happy face of Harry was kind of enough to go on with this dinner, _cause good luck saying no to his dimples_.

George doesn’t even remember how all this Louis madness started, but he clearly remembers Harry’s face when he walked into the room, like his whole life was unfolding in front of him, like everything that he had experienced cease to matter because _this_ , this gorgeous boy with brown messy hair, small glassed perched on his nose, and a too cheeky look on his face, was all he ever needed to have with him.

Only that Harry didn’t handle it as poetically as George remembers it. He actually started choking on air, hitting George’s leg under the counter and muttering “oh my god Ge look he’s beautiful oh my God, how do I look? Fast smell my breath” and fell mute as soon as Louis got near them to ask for the price of a book.

“Uhm, hello? I’d like to know how much this costs?” He had asked, handing the book in the general direction of them both. And Harry just stood there, speechless, staring at his eyes while a red tint coloured up his cheeks.

“Uhm…” Louis said again, look at George with concern, brows furrowed, as in asking _is your friend okay?_ , which helped to kick George out of his stupor and quickly grabbing the book he scanned it and told him the price and after buying it, he walked out of the shop, still eyeing Harry worryingly, like he was scared he might collapse in the floor and die.  
“Oh God we totally had sexual tension, didn’t we?” Harry said after Louis was totally out of sight, with a wide grin that had nothing to do with the mild panic attack he had had a minute ago.

“ _Yeah, totally_ ” George replied rolling his eyes, and then when back to work.

The thing was every single day that Louis appeared at the shop, Harry did nothing more than stutter and run away to the other side of the shop to watch him with heart eyes as he chose his books. It took him months, _months_ , to work up the courage to talk to Louis, and it just had happened because George was busy with another customer, and if he had the most ridiculous crush on him without even having talk to the guy, after discovering that they pretty much loved the same indie bands and book authors, well, Harry was planning their wedding and naming their kids within the next hour.

After weeks of pining, Louis had shyly came over the counter, and told Harry that his friend Josh had tickets for City and colour and as he _was such a big fan too he should tag along with them if he wanted_ (as if there was any chance that Harry would reject a blushing Louis asking him out, shit he probably would have agreed to go to a Carly Rea Jepsen concert) and also as Josh was the one getting them the tickets, they should have dinner with him as in thank you, and he should bring a friend too cause it’s just mates having dinner, not a date, nope.

And that’s how they got themselves here, with an overexcited I’m-having-dinner-with-Louis-holy-shit Harry and a I’d-rather-be-playing-fifa-at-home-this-is-stupid George.  
Walking past some tables full of couples and some children who looked more interested in throwing the food to each other rather than eating it, they spot Louis. He’s wearing a low cut white t-shirt which lets his chest tattoo show, tight jeans, vans, and his hair is arranged in a careless fringe. He looks good, or at least as good as George is willing to spend time staring at Louis’ fashion, but it was nice to see that he had clearly spent almost as much time as Harry freaking out on what to wear.

He stops looking at Louis to pay attention to the boy sitting next to him and wow, just, wow, now that was something he wouldn’t mind spending time looking at.

George’s eyes unabashedly look up and down his body, taking in how his tight blue t-shirt pleasantly shows his biceps and how his pants seem to be straining around his legs. His mouth goes a bit dry and when his eyes travel back up and meet the cutest, clearest eyes he’s ever seen, accompanied by cheekbones that could cut glass, and cherry inviting lips.

And _okay he’s staring_ so, with blushing cheeks, he takes his eyes away and walks behind Harry, who looks like a mix of a child on Christmas day and a person who’s about to pass out. All the ingredients for a fantastic night, he thinks.

They both get up from the table as soon as they approach it, and while Harry and Louis share an awkward one side hug, the boy sets for a polite nod of the head. While looking a little flustered, Louis introduces them.

“Yes so uhm, this is Josh” he says while pointing at him, _so Josh it is_ , George thinks, pleased. “And Josh this is Harry, whom I talked to you about…” he adds, blushing even more, which earns a playful smirk from Josh and a pleased, fond grin from Harry, “and his friend ehm”.

“George” he supplies, not at all bother that Louis didn’t remember his name, he hadn’t remembered Josh’s name either anyway.

A couple of tense seconds pass before he says “well, should we eat?” a little hesitantly though it helped to take everybody out of their trance. Harry and Louis sit in front of each other, same for George and Josh, to what none of them seem too opposed to. The waiter comes soon enough, barely giving them time to choose their food. He settles on a simple plate of pasta, while Harry and Louis decided to share a plate of some weird chicken thing that was too big for one person, not because like, _sharing is romantic or anything, what are you talking about_. George stops internally laughing at Harry’s expense to look at Josh, who looks so beautifully troubled by choosing of the menu. Suddenly, he lifts his gaze so fast that George doesn’t even have time to register it, so he’s caught staring like an idiot, _great_.

“Would you recommend something?” he says, tilting his head, a soft hint of a smile on his lips.

“Ehm…yeah sure…I…uhm” he stutters while taking the menu on his hands and if Harry wasn’t so busy talking about a book that recently came out and looking at Louis like he’s the best thing to happen to humanity after the mankind discovered that we can sleep, well, he probably would be laughing at George, about all the times he laughed at him for not being able to talk to Louis without being a blushing mess, cause yeah, who’s the blushing idiot now asshole.

“I’ve heard the chicken salad is good?” he says and of course, of course , his voice comes out all pitchy, high, and breathless, making him sound like a girl with a crush. _Get a grip Shelley for the love of God_ , he mutters to himself.

“Is it?” he replies with a blinding smile, showing a set of perfectly white straight teeth, except for one of the incisors that’s a little crooked over the other, and somebody helped him if that wasn’t the most adorable thing he has ever seen, and since when does he find _teeth_ adorable? Really, he’s losing his mind, and he’ll blame it on spending too much time with Harry, yep that’s the reason.

“I think I’ll go with it then” Josh continues and what is he talking about again? Oh yeah, the salad. He recommended him a salad, he’s brilliant and clearly stupid enough as to flirt over bloody salad.

Soon enough, the food comes and he’s no longer in the spot light of embarrassing himself. They all fall into a comfortable silence, enjoying their food that was _really_ good, ten points for Louis for choosing the place, and yeah ten points for bringing Josh too, why not, George is a generous person, he likes giving people points for great things, and Josh is definitely great, so is this spaghetti he’s having, man it’s _delicious_ , a dancing ballet in his mouth.

After a couple of minutes, they all start talking again, Louis deciding not to be too harry centered and asking George things about his life which ends up in Harry asking Josh things about his life too and that obviously gets him ten, no, twenty points, _well done Harry_ , George thinks, fist bumping the air on his insides.

He learns quite a few interesting facts about Josh, such as that he’s known Louis almost his whole life, since they were little and Louis knocked on his door and asked him to played footie together in the park near their houses and have been best friends ever since (which is pretty much the same story that Harry and he himself share, with the only difference that there wasn’t any football involved, it was bullies trying to hit George cause he was fat and wore glasses, and Harry being brave enough at the age of five as to kick them in their balls and tell them to stop bothering Georgie, and yeah, they became pretty much bothers after that). He also mentions that those football sessions with Louis got them injured countless times and one particular afternoon that Louis was feeling quite Beckham-like, he kicked the ball so high and with such force that it flew all over the pitch and collapsed against Josh face, breaking one of his front teeth, _so that’s why he has a crooked incisor_ , George thinks, and it’s vital information okay, he’s sure it is. He also learns that he studies art and graphic design at Manchester University and _wait, he studies at Manchester University too_ , and the medicine building is next to the art one, how come he had never even seen him at campus before? He wants to smash his head with a frying pan for being always so distracted as to not see such a pretty boy walking past next to him in the hallways. He gets to know silly things about him like that his favourite colour is green, he has a cat called Flower, he’s allergic to garlic and by the end of the dinner, when the waiter brings over a piece of cheese cake and some brownies to share, George is pretty sure he’s a little in love, _in a totally platonic way_ , obviously.

When they decide that it’s time to leave because they all have class early in the morning, Josh asks him if he likes City and Colour too.

“Uhm, yeah of course” he says, quickly looking at Harry, who has his eyebrows raised in mild surprise cause he know that he doesn’t like that band at all, he always complains when Harry listens to it, Dallas Green’s voice too low and raspy for his liking.

“Oh brilliant!” Josh replies, rewarding him once again with one of those full face smiles. “You should tag along to the concert them?” he says in a questioning tone, like he’s giving George the chance to refuse the offer, _as if he would._

“That’s sounds brilliant, I’d love to” he answers giving him one of those smiles that make his dimples appear and if he knows that smiles make him look hot and innocent at the same time well, you can’t blame him, he’s in front of a fit boy, he has to use his seduction weapons.

Harry and Louis give each other a hug again, a reasonable bone-crashing one now, George and Josh shaking hands awkwardly, and then both part their ways.

They start walking towards their flat, when after a few minutes in silence, Harry says, looking smug “So, city and colour huh? Didn’t know you were a fan” wriggling his eyebrows after a pause.

“Shut up Harry” he can’t stop his cheeks from blushing up “don’t think I didn’t see you thinking about going into the restaurant’s bathroom to have a wank over Louis, _that’s gross”._

“Yeah well what did you expected me to do?” he says looking concerned, as if wanking over Louis in public places was a state problem “Have you seen his chest piece?” he continues “He’s so cute and rugged and hot at the same time, God I’ll wank to his tattoo till the last day of my life” he concludes, exhaling a long breath, and keeps talking all the way back home about how Louis does things which are obviously perfect, and George doesn’t mind, not really, as long as Harry doesn’t ask him again about Josh cause he’s not sure he’ll be able to stop his cheeks from blushing or his lips from smiling.


	3. chapter 3

A week after the dinner, Harry is happy. No, happy is an understatement, he’s fucking _glowing_. He sees Louis pretty much every day, and when he doesn’t, they are constantly chatting on the phone.

The next Tuesday, they shop is really quite. It’s just them and a couple of customers that are engrossed in the gardening books. He’s in the middle of eating his granola bar when Harry says, looking intently at his feet “Yeah, so uhm, I talked with Louis?” he looks up and he’s biting his lip worryingly, a nervous look in his eyes, it’s adorable.

“Yeah mate, you’ve been talking _every day_ , and I was there listening to you waking in your room, quite disturbing if you ask me” George says, laughing as he recalls the memory of a giddy Harry who couldn’t contain the grin in his face every time he received a text from Louis.

“haha yeah” he says, not being able to stop his face from showing utter _joy_ , and really, George is so happy for him, Harry deserves someone that makes his smile like that every minute of his life.

“The thing is…” he hesitated, going from fantastically happy to sad and nervous again. He takes a deep breath before continuing. “The thing is I asked Lou about Josh and he said he’s straight. I’m so sorry Ge” and he looks so genuinely upset that George can’t do anything other than smile a too tight smile and say “Hey Harry, it’s okay mate, nothing we can do about it yeah? It’s not his fault, or ours, that he fancies girls, really, don’t worry about it, he’s the one missing my phenomenal dick” and while his poor attempt of a joke brings a some kind of smile to Harry’s lips, and that in George’s book is a success, it still hurts, it bloody _does_ , because it really isn’t Josh fault if he doesn’t like boys, but it’s like fate is laughing at George expense or something, cause every time, every single time since he was thirteen and realized he’s rather kiss a boy to squeeze a girl’s boob every boy he ever fancied was a) straight b) taken c) straight _and_ taken d) an alien or something that definitely stopped him from possibly dating George. That’s why Josh news didn’t come as a surprise for him, he was used to boys rejecting him, but what bothered him the most was that he had totally misread Josh, the thought that those lingering looks and toothy smiles meant that there was something there, something that wasn’t just George-sided but well, what was another boy rejecting him in his life? He’d survive. 

Just when he is about to keep doing jokes about straight boys that aren’t able to eat some Shelley-jelly, Louis enters the shop, a paper bag in his hands. He goes over the counter, nods a hello to him, and kisses Harry softly on his right cheek, making him blush redder than George has ever seen him, he was starting to get worried about his blood pressure, cause heart attacks bro, they are a thing.

“I was walking over to get that book I told you about last Monday? When I passed next to this lovely new bakery and they had this fantastic looking cookies but I bought too many, do you want to eat some with me?” Louis asks Harry blushing pretty hard himself, shaking the bag he’s holding.

“I’d love to” Harry says, dimple showing.

“We could go to the park around the corner?” He suggests.

“Yeah that’s perfect, George do you mind” he starts asking George only to be cut off by him saying

“Yeah mate don’t worry go” and just like that they leave, looking ridiculously invested in each other, leaving a slightly broken hearted George to handle to bookstore.

 


	4. chapter 4

Days go by and everything is pretty regular for them till one day the following week, Harry comes bursting inside the flat with a gigantic grin in his lips, cheeks flushed and a glint of mirth in his eyes, although it’s not an unusual look for him these days, since Louis asked him to go to that concert, he looks like the personification of a bunch of flowers, covered in glitter, a love song playing in the backstage or something equally sappy, but it suits him. A happy Harry makes a happy world.

“Guess whaaaaat” he chirps, dragging the words in a ridiculous way.

“Whaaaaaat” he says just as obnoxiously.

He plunks himself on the sofa, grabs a cushion and sinks his face in it.

“Lonodsdboasedmdiermeoutttt” he shouts into the cushion.

“What? I can’t hear you if you talk through that twat” George rolls his eyes and takes away the cushion and throws it to the armchair.

Harry takes a deep breath to compose himself, and says much calmer

“Louis asked me out, like, in a date” he can’t contain the grin spreading and taking place in almost his whole face, and really, George can’t either cause _about time they got their shit together._

“Oh hazza” George mutters while pushing Harry into a bone crushing hug “I’m so happy for you” then he pushes back, grabs him by his shoulders and says as serious as he can “don’t put out on the first date love, and in any case please use protection”. A second pass before Harry registers what he just said and when he does he leaves George’s embrace to push him against the sofa and straddle him, his gigantic body covering George’s completely. And what would any regular adult do in this situation? He tickles him, long fingers digging hard on his sides, and they laugh, and laugh, _and laugh_ till they are falling of the sofa into a puddle or limbs and fuck if he doesn’t love his stupid, overgrown toddler of a friend.

 


	5. chapter 5

It is all nice and dandy until the day of the date actually comes.

Half an hour before Louis is set to pick Harry up, George finds him in his room sprawled out on the carpeted floor, face down. After checking that yes, he’s still breathing, George lets out a sigh cause his friend is so dramatic that they should get a sitcom on tv, asap.

“Harry what on earth are you doing?” he asks, massaging his temples.

“idnmwaingfzlounbapsdorge” is his answer.

“And once again, _I can’t hear you_ in you speak covering your mouth” he says as he walks his way over to the end of the bed, where he sits and kicks Harry’s head lightly till he rolls over.

“I have nothing to wear. I want to die. Call Louis and tell him I died” he takes a deep breath “and tell him that I loved him and I always thought that his arse is a gift from God”.  _Yes_ , their sitcom would probably win tons of golden globes, George thinks.

“Harry come on, you have more clothes than any other person I know, I’ll help you find something that’ll make you look all hot” he puts in, a fond smile on his face, because no matter how much he enjoys laughing at Harry antics, he can tell he’s really stressed over the clothes thing.

“Really?” he asks from the floor, pouting, and George is torn between reaching down and patting his hair or kicking his stomach. He settles for whispering _yes_ and helping Harry get up from the floor.

Fifteen minutes pass and Harry is ready to go, dressed in a white t-shirt underneath a plaid shirt, tight black jeans that are ripped over the knees and his hideous brown boots that he loves and wears almost every day like a luck charm or something, _you wouldn’t get it George_ , he said every time the topic of new shoes was brought up. All in all he looks great, casual, bangable and Louis will definitely love it; if George mentally slaps his own back in congratulations of his outstanding fashion sense well, no one can blame him.

Just as he’s about to open his mouth to continue praising his work, the bell rings and Harry stiff, eyes wide.

George grabs his shoulders and shakes him a little “ _hey_ ” he says softly “hey Harry”.

“I’m nervous Ge, what if he thinks I’m an idiot?” he whispers, the fear thick on this voice.

“Harry come on” Grabbing Harry’s arms with more force he continues “you have to relax because you’re great, and he’s great and you really like each other. You don’t have to be nervous, I know you’ll blow his mind. He’ll probably propose by the end of the night, and if he doesn’t well, he’s an idiot cause you’re _fantastic_. So go over your man and show him some of Styles magic yeah?”.

Harry hugs him with such strength that his sides hurt and maybe, just maybe _he should_ go back to the gym, but you know, maybe someday, when he actually has someone to impress with muscles and a toned stomach, he’s fine now, alone and lazy.

“Thank you” Harry whispers with intent on his ear, then straightens up, and walks towards the door where his boy is waiting for him.

George stays in the room, hears them greeting each other, soft, calm but full of fondness hellos before the door clicks signalizing they already parted to their dinner.

He drags his feet to the kitchen to grab a can of coke and pasta’s leftovers, then accommodates himself on the sofa to get ready for a How I meet your mother marathon.

_Oh what a night._


	6. chapter 6

Harry comes back sometime between three and four in the morning, waking George up from where he fell asleep on the sofa. He shifts lightly but Harry catches it, so he comes closer and sits next to him on the sofa, snuggling under the covers he has there too, and rest his head on George’s shoulder.

“Did you have fun at you date?” he asks, stiffing a yawn, moving closer to catch more warmth.

He is able to catch a glimpse’s of Harry’s face with the faint light coming from outside and throw the thin cream curtains. His eyes look abnormally big and sparkly, his cheeks flushed red, his grin too wide to fit in his face and, _wait_ is that a _lovebite_ on his throat?.

“It was…” he whispers, looking dreamily into the air, like he’s contemplating creating new words to express it “…just magical, yeah”, gaze down to look into George eyes, and he looks… _complete_ somehow. It’s like a click that was made, a calmness that was reached, like every single piece of his own self found its place because probably that place was with someone else’s pieces all along.

“Yeah I can tell” he says raising his eyebrows, poking his finger into the lovebite until Harry hisses in pain.

“Stop it!” he shouts covering his neck with his hands, but he’s laughing loudly, half of his body falling to the ground.

With a sigh, he falls to the ground as well, so they both can sit with their backs against the sofa.

He pats Harry’s thigh contently “Come on, I know you’re dying to recite a sonnet or some shit about Louis lips”.

“Heeeey” he says, looking mildly offended and pouting, but he forgets about it in a second and starts rambling about the night.

“After he picked me up we walked to the restaurant, you know, Il Gatto, the Italian one? And he was so nervous I think, but like, I was just as nervous and that probably made him nervous as well” he says in a rush, then rubs his hands on his face to calm himself. “And I wanted to hold his hand, but was if mine was sweaty or maybe he didn’t want me to but while I was freaking out about it he just reached for my hand and laced our fingers and Ge” he pauses to take a deep breath, closing his eyes and resting his head on the sofa “it was perfect Ge, even our hands feet perfectly, like they were made for each other”.

George is pretty sure he falls a little asleep somewhere between Harry’s description of the way Louis held his fork when he was eating his pasta and how their hands kept finding each other’s while they were eating the brownie and cheesecake, but he’s completely awake when Harry recounts  the kiss.

 “So when we were here it was a little awkward you know cause, it was like when you’re fourteen and your crush walks you home? God Ge he makes me feel fourteen!” he whines throwing his head back, his cheeks probably flushing red. “And then all of a sudden his sighs, and covers his face with his hands and stays silent, so I obviously freaked out,  cause I thought shit _I screwed  it up_ and it was all just so perfect and I wanted to die and I was so caught up that I didn’t even register when he grabbed my face and crashed our lips together”.

He goes silent for a minute, like he’s remembering the moment in his head, drowning blissfully in the privacy of his mind.

“I think… I don’t think I can tell you how it felt like, cause I’m not even sure there are like, words for that, but I can assure you that the second our lips touched I felt like something in us mingled together, like we were just one”. George nods without being really sure what Harry’s talking about, he never felt like he belonged to someone, but if all those songs and Harry’s utter joy are something to go by, it’s a pretty great feeling.

“Then we kept kissing and when we broke apart he blushed so beautifully Ge, it was adorable. And he told me, he told me that he always thought that I was hot, but that it never even crossed his mind that I might even be into him cause I always ran to the other side of the shop when he comes in and _Jesus_ Ge, you know I did that cause I was scared to embarrassed myself” he stops to take a long breath “I don’t know Ge, I’ve never felt this stupid with a boy before, it’s the first time that I don’t just want to have sex and sneak out in the morning, I... I want that obviously, I want that _a lot_ , but I also want the dates, and the hand holding, and snuggling in the sofa while watching movies, I want him, just him, for _me_ and no one else” he looks up and directly into George’s eyes, open and earnest “do you think it’s stupid? That I fell this hard for him?”.

George comes closer, almost sitting on Harry’s lap, and holds onto him for dear life. He looks into his eyes seriously and asks “do _you_ think it’s stupid?”.

He doesn’t even need a second to think about it “ _No, of course not_ ” he says harshly “We’re meant to be”.

“There’s your answer then” George says softly, rising to his feet and helping Harry up too “Two people that are meant to be together? That could never be stupid Harry, it’s _fantastic_ ”.

“Thanks Ge” he says, full of emotion, and after a quick but tight hug, they both go to their bedrooms to sleep.


	7. chapter 7

Weeks passed and George thinks he can have the honor to say that Harry and Louis are a couple. That might be because one afternoon Harry came into his bedroom, George still asleep and oblivious to his friend’s antics, and started jumping up and down on George’s bed, not only waking him up but also probably giving him permanent cardiac damage.

“HE CALLED ME HIS BOYFRIEND” he jumped higher and higher “GEORGEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” and with one last final jump, he collapsed on the bed, his body curling against George’s. “I’m so _happy_ ” he pauses to take a long breath, “also, I think I’ll vomit, _shit_ ” and fast as a thunder he gets up and rushes towards the bathroom.

While Harry comes down from his high, George slowly gets up, picks up some hopefully clean clothes, and heads to the kitchen to make some pancakes.

He’s in the middle of putting two plates on the table when Harry appears, no longer looking like at the verge of passing out.

“Soooo” George says, handing Harry his plate “gonna tell me all about it?”.

“ _God yes_ ” he sighs dreamily, and after putting some syrup on the pancakes he goes on “So this morning we were texting, but just as usual, and all of a sudden he sends me, _wait_ ” he stops mid sentence to reach for his phone on the other side of the table “here, look” he says, shoving the phone in George’s face.

The text reads “ _Woops think the prof caught me texting, so I’ll have to leave you for now, don’t want mr Duncan to realize I pay more attention to my boyfriend rather than his *super* interesting class ;) talk later .xx_ ”

George smiles giving Harry this phone back “Well wasn’t that _smooth_ ” he says, shaking his head.

“Shut uuup” he whines, but not being able to stop the smile forming in his lips “It was perfect and so thought my twitter followers, mind you”.

“ _What?!”_ George shouts, in mock anger “you told your stupid 100 followers about this outstanding event before your best friend? I’m hurt Styles”.

“You love me, and they are 282 followers, asshole” is his reply before biting his last piece of pancake and going into his room to get ready for the day.

George decides to take a pee before getting ready for work, and yeah, why not do the second too.

While he’s sitting on the loo the decides to check twitter and tweet some cheesy thing to Harry to kill some time, besides he can multitask _like a pro,_ thank you very much.

He literally covers his face in secondhand embarrassment as he read Harry’s tweets.

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

OH GOD I CAN’T BREATHE.

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

This is the best day of my life.

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

Ok yeah I know I said it was the best day of my life last week BUT HE CALLED ME HIS BOYFRIEND.

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

Im peeing myself rn.

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

Not literally folks.

Emma <3 (@FSidney22) retweeted by @Harry_Styles

OMG HARRY! Congrats babe! See u @ class, what the details ;).

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

@FSidney22 thanks love! And count on it ;).

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

Cant wait for @GeorgeShelley to wake up so I can tell him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

This is my super hot boyfriend @Louis_Tomlinson in case you were wondering [pic.twitter.com/bFGWKDLz](http://t.co/bFGWKDLz) .xx

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert) retweeted by @Harry_Styles

You’re both so annoyingly cute .x

 

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

@JoshCuthbert Thanks Joshy!!! .xxxxxxx

Harry Styles (@Harry_Styles)

Well time to wake @GeorgeShelley up with the fantastic news (: .

 

George doesn’t go into Josh account, well he doesn’t go _willingly_ , it’s just a slip of his fingers and the touch screen is sensitive and okay, he’s just curious and bored in the bathroom, besides Josh was nice, it’s probably a nice account, _shut up_.

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Morninggg, gah im so tired L.

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

And everyday I'm learning about you The things that no one else sees #thexx #whatatune

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Sooo much homework #sadjosh

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@HarryAgron Babe you ready? Im on my way.

 

Mel Fa (@HarryAgrn) retweeted by Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@JoshCuthbert be ready in 20! Cant wait, I’ve missed you .xx

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Women take so lnggggggg.

 

Ellen (@ellen101) retweeted by Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@JoshCuthbert fuck you josh.

 

Marion! (@stallionhearts) retweeted by Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@JoshCuthbert fuck you josh you assholes take as long as us.

 

Lottie (@LottieTomlinson) retweeted by Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@JoshCuthbert we might take really long but my brother always takes even more time ;) take care josh!!!.

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@LottieTomlinson hahaha always! But we love him that way. See you soon Lotts, miss you .xx

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Never mess with women ha! (:.

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Yaaaay finally with my girl @HarryAgron!.

 

Mel Fa (@HarryAgrn) retweeted by Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

YEEESSS @JoshCuthbert #CinemawithJosh.

 

Mel Fab (@HarryAgrn) retweeted by Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Also thanks for this, I LOVE IT <333 [http://instagram.com/p/fX5Bs-j-h/](http://instagram.com/p/fX5Bs-j-Xh/).

 

So yeah okay, his girlfriend is gorgeous and he takes her to the cinema and give her presents, _isn’t it lovely_ , the thinks moodily, and the thing is it was, in fact, lovely, he just wishes he had someone like Josh to do lovely things for him as well.

George is about to close the app and keep sulking about his love life when he accidentally clicks on Louis’ tweet and the conversation opens.

Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) retweeted by Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@JoshCuthbert Say hi to @HarryAgrn for me!!!!!!!!! Miss her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .xx

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@Louis_Tomlinson She says hi back (: .

 

Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson)

@JoshCuthbert Tell her my boyfriend’s name is Harry! I have to introduce em so they can bond over the name ha. Saw him today, his hot friend was there ;))).

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@Louis_Tomlinson She says he must be great with that name! hahaha asshole did ya? Say hi from me next time ;).

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

@Louis_Tomlinson Talk at home Lou the movie is about to start .xxxxxxxxxx

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Did I mention that @Louis_Tomlinson ‘s boyfriend friend is super hot? He is #dimplesss.

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Anyway not for Joshy aha ;(.

 

Josh Cuthbert (@JoshCuthbert)

Movie’s about to start! @HarryAgron (:! .

 

 

George mind goes blank. They are talking about him. He’s Harry’s hot friend. _Holy shit._

His mind is so numb he doesn’t even register that his phone slips from his hand and goes right into the loo.

Oh god.

His phone fell.

 His phone is inside the loo.

His phone is floating in pee.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck._

However, while his mind goes a million miles an hour thinking how to rescue his phone in the less disgusting way possible, his focus is still on Josh tweets and that thin light of hope that they hold.


	8. chapter 8

Things go back to normal pretty fast, and George tries to forget about him being a weirdo and stalking Josh twitter, but it’s kind of complicated to block that particular piece of information out when he’ll have to save for months to get himself a new phone because he’s stupid enough as to drop it in the fucking toilet over a pair of pretty cheekbones, and of course he doesn’t tell Harry why he actually dropped the phone, because it’s downright _embarrassing_.

Friday afternoon, George is lying around in his room deciding to use the free day to tidy up a bit, when Harry comes bursting through the door.

“If you had plans for tomorrow afternoon, cancel them” he deadpans while dropping his gigantic giraffe body into the bed.

“Uhm, and why is that?” he asks folding the shirts he found under the bed.

“we” he slowly says, waving his hand between the two “are going to the fun fair with lou”

“Haz” He starts to complain but is stopped by Harry raising his hand “no complains, and It’s not like you’ll be third wheeling or anything, josh will be there too, Zayn and Liam as well, probably”.

And he tries, he really does, not to blush like a kid, _c’mon Shelley you’re not 13_ , and fails miserably, tho if Harry notices he makes no comment on it.

 

-

 

The fun fair triple date (as Harry takes a liking to call) day comes faster than George wants and really, he just feels _pathetic_ daydreaming and thinking non stop about someone who’s straight and not interested, but at the same time has called him cute didn’t he? _Ugh_ , he just hates romance and shit and Harry bouncing off his feet with excitement was certainly not helping.

“ugh could you fucking stop?” he whispers when they are nearing Louis’ flat complex “seriously Harry you’ve been dating for _months_ , it’s not like this is the first date or anything”

“No, I know I know, I’m just nervous I don’t know why, he’s been acting weird” he stops to look up into George’s eyes with, his own huge green eyes full of concern “do you think he’s going to break up with me or something?” Harry asks while they climb the few stairs and get into the elevator

“Don’t be ridiculous, he’s crazy about you, so shut up babe” he caress Harry’s arm gently hoping to calm the boy a little bit.

Harry doesn’t have time to reply as they are quickly approaching Louis’ door, which opens just when they are about to knock.

“Well hello curly” Louis says making grabby hands at harry, who falls into his arms naturally

“Hello yourself” he replies with a blinding smile, perking up to give Louis a soft peck on the lips.

George stays awkwardly on the doorstep while the couple decide this is a good and life changing moment to start snogging and seriously, they’ll be late and the queue will be unbearable, it’s not like he wants to spend time with Josh or anything. 

Just when he’s about to shove Harry off Louis’ mouth, the guy who he remembers is called Zayn Malik and looks better than any model he has ever seen, with his raven black hair, dark mesmerizing eyes and cheekbones to die for,  steps outside hand in hand with his boyfriend Liam whom George doesn’t really know all that much, but looks like the kind of person who would throw their jacket on the floor for you to walk on if you don’t want to ruin your shoes on a rainy day, the guy looks so genuinely _good_.

 

“Oi you two, stop sucking each other faces, we have rides to take” Zayn says, taking Louis by the collar and off Harry.

“And teddy bears to win!” Liam adds, giggling, and really, the guy is a puppy, nobody will tell George otherwise.

“No need to get your knickers on a twist princess, we’ll go as soon as Josh arrives” he replies intertwining his fingers with Harry’s.

He doesn’t even get to finish the sentence when Josh comes off the elevator, messy hair and rosy checks holding a motorcycle helmet on his arm. So Josh drives a motorcycle, no biggie, it’s not like the simple thought of riding it while holding on to dear life to Josh’s waist and the sense of adrenaline and the wind coming to your face makes George any kind of uncomfortable on the crotch, and he certainly doesn’t have to discretely re accommodate the bulge in his pants, _nop, not a thing,_ he just hopes there isn’t security cameras on the aisle to record his stupidity.

“Sorry I’m late lads” he says, handing Louis the helmet on instinct who walks back into the flat to drop it on the coffee table “caught by traffic. Should we get going?” he asked signaling the elevator with his thumb.

“Yeah let’s go!” Louis shouts when he comes back, hopping on Harry’s back who carries him to the elevator, the other four guys following behind.

“Hey” Josh whispers when they land on the first floor and aim for the front door “How you’ve been?” he asks with a sweet smile.

“I’m, I ah, I’m good, you?” he stutters and seriously c’mon, It’s not the first time George is in front of a hot guy, and he’s always been much more suave than this, and _this_ is ridiculous and he wants the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

“I’m good” he replies with a smug smile, as sensing that he makes George nervous and a blushing mess, with is probably really obvious to anyone with eyes.

“Oh hey” he says after an uncomfortable silence, “we should ride the ferris wheel together, don’t you think?” he winks and before George has time to process that Josh just blatantly flirted with him, he’s walking off with Zayn, catching up with something about a Batman comic.

And if he stays the whole bus ride to Winter Wonderland with a stupid smile on his face, well, that’s for him to know.


	9. chapter nine

To say the Winter Wonderland is _actually wonderful_ is a complete understatement. The place is probably the prettiest thing George has ever witness in his whole life, including that three storey cheesecake Harry once made for his birthday and that was a pretty huge big deal so, yes, wonderful indeed. The place is just so full of lights and games and _happy_ families and friends and couples that it probably would melt the Grinch heart away, George is pretty sure that’s impossible not to glow inside that place.

 

They start riding the small rollercoaster but as soon as Harry feels sick in the stomach they decide to stick to the rides designed for children because _“Nothing is going to make my baby feel sick you disgusting bastard”_ Louis says when Zayn complains that Harry can’t keep his food in his stomach like a man.

 

Hours later  when they had ridden every single child ride and even a couple of adults one after Harry assures Louis like, thirty times that _yes, he’s sure_ , and _no, he won’t throw up,_ and _I love you too, let’s go_ they decide to take it a little slow and walk to the actual fair games, where Liam and Louis promise to win gigantic teddy bears for their boyfriend.

 

As he doesn’t have anyone to win a teddy for (because really, winning one for his mother would be _lame_ , and winning one for Josh would be suicidal _and_ ridiculous) he decides to walk with Zayn to the Hot Dogs station, while Harry prefers to stay there and be a cheerleader for his boyfriend and Josh stays too to look hot or something, George doesn’t know and _certainly_ doesn’t care, thank you very much.

 

What he certainly doesn’t expect when he gets back with four hot dogs in his hands is to find Harry with his legs around Louis’ waist, holding onto him with a gigantic reindeer plushy and snogging his face off (well, maybe he expected that part a little bit, same with Zayn running into Liam’s arms and whispering probably ridiculously sweet things in his ear as he hands him a huge panda bear plushy) but he _certainly, 100%, not in a million years,_ expects to see Josh with a huge and sweet looking beige teddy bear on his arms,  looking sheepish and nervous and embarrassed.

 

George is tucked out of his downfall by Louis’ shout of “hot dogs!” and doesn’t even register when he takes three off his hands. His whole attention is put on the way Josh approaches to him, giving him the teddy with a hardcore blush on his checks, muttering lowly _“this is for you”_ and George is _so clever, so sexy, so interesting and good at interacting with gorgeous crystal eyed boys_ that the only response his stupid brain is able to come with is “thanks” taking the pretty teddy under his armpit and shoving half of the hot dog into this mouth.

 

Josh opens his mouth as to say something else on the matter but is stopped by Liam saying “Hey guys I think it’s pretty late, why don’t we head home and have some beers? Niall texted me he’d drop by with Ashe” to which they all nod affirmatively and start walking to the exit.

 

Just when they are about to hop on the bus he grabs Josh by the elbow and says, blushing furiously “Uhm hey, uhm, thanks for the teddy really, it’s really cute I’ll put it in my room” and oh god he wants to jump in front of the bus and let it run over him cause that'd be better than the embarrassment he puts himself into every time he opens his stupid mouth, but when he’s about to think the ultimately details of his death, Josh gives him the mostly blinding smile he has ever seen and says “My pleasure George” and steps into the bus.

 

And maybe, just maybe, George realizes that embarrassing himself for that smile is not half bad of a choice, maybe he’ll make a career out of it.


	10. chapter 10

it’s late, and he’s drunk, lying on his living room floor and feeling out .

Niall and his girlfriend, a pretty girl called Ashe with long black hair and a kind smile that he met over a seminar a couple of years ago, do in fact bring tons of beers, and the reasonable thing to do when a pretty boy gives you a huge teddy bear and looks at you with fondness is drink your nervousness away, _pss obviously._

"Hey G,” Harry says, while George closes his eyes, enjoying the quietness of the terrace, the solid and cool floor under his back,  "tell me a story”.

George laughs quietly, slurred through the alcohol in his body. The air is thick and warm, but gives a sense of peace, like the whole world is coming to a stop just to let that moment be as expanse and it wants, of maybe it’s just all the beer he had, mixed with a little bit of vodka that Zayn gave him right before he and Liam had to leave, Josh opting to go with them so they could share a cab.

“Story about what?” He asks in a low voice, no more than a whisper.

“I don’t know, anything” he turns around, looking at George dead in the eyes “just what you’re thinking about”.

“I’m scared” he replies after a pause that felt like hours, but couldn’t have been more than mere seconds.

“bout what?” Harry asks concerned, lines in his forehead that makes him look like a moody kitten and George would pinch his checks just because but he’s so far, and his arms feel like they weight a ton each.

“It’s just” and he pauses, turns back and looks into the stars, and it’s always easier to talk like that _isn’t it?_ Looking into the stars, realizing you’re not more than a dot of dust in the vast universe, and suddenly your problems don’t feel that huge anymore.

“ I don’t want to disappoint them” he rushes out in a whisper, and Harry being the good, sensitive friend he is, doesn’t reply anything, opting instead for letting George take his time to get it all out.

“Remember in year 11, when I spent the weekend at Jaymi’s, to do that stupid project for Mrs Maghogagy’s class?” he doesn’t even wait to see if Harry does remember the class, if he’s going to pour his heart out, he’s going to do it in a rush, like when you take off a plaster after the cut is healed “well, we, uhm, we kind of make out? In that stupid coffee shop and my dad was walking by and, I don’t know I “and he has to stop to breath some air into his lungs, clear his mind a little because this is the first time he’s saying this out loud and if feels like the weight of the world is going away from his shoulders.

“George” Harry says, sounding much more sober than ten minutes ago, grabbing his hand “why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because” he breathes as much air as he can, squeezing Harry’s hand with force “no matter how close we are H, it’s not really a cool thing to tell somebody you know? That your dad thinks you’re a disappointment, that you had to tell him that it was just to help Jaymi make his boyfriend jealous, that you would never want to kiss a boy”.

And to that Harry doesn’t even reply, he just brings himself into a sitting position, coming closer to George and hugs him with all he has.

“And now” he sobs, and really, what’s the point in holding back tears by now? “now I’ll disappoint him for someone who wouldn’t even like me back”.

“George he likes you back, it’s kinda obvious” Harry says still holding him.

“No he doesn’t Harry, he’s just friendly, you know he’s straight”

“Uhm yeah about that” a third voice says from behind what startles George and Harry, breaking the hug, making them oper their eyes big as saucers.

“I can explain about that?” Louis continues, looking embarrassed and sheepish, sitting down next to Harry who instantly reaches for his hand, intertwining their fingers.

“What about it babe?” he asks softly, caressing Louis knuckles with his thumb.

“Remember when you asked me if Josh was into guys too?” Harry nods, and Louis suddenly looks redder than a tomato “Uhm well, I kinda thought you were asking me about it cause _you_ were interested?  And I was already so gone for you, that I didn’t want you to think about another guy so, yeah, I told you he was straight” he rushes out, looking down into his and Harry’s hand.

Harry’s reply, being the lovesick fool he is consists of a long _awwwwwww_ and throwing himself onto Louis to kiss the living daylight out of him.

When he’s able to detached his lips from Harry’s (who decides to go for Louis throat instead) he says to George “oh and Josh is definitely into you, you should go for it mate” and before George is able to come up with a reply, he’s back at kissing Harry.

He slowly gets up, and while heading into the flat he hears Harry shouting to him “don’t think I won’t tell Olly about Jaymi!” and a low laugh, which somehow brings a small smile to his lips.

 

Once inside the flat, he sits on his bed and contemplates that maybe, for once, going after what he wants will be worth it.


	11. chapter 11

George wakes up with a pounding headache and a twisted stomach, so first what’s firsts, he goes into the kitchen to grab some medicine and cold water, only to find Ashe and Niall preparing pancakes on the counter (or more like Ashe preparing pancakes and Niall eating them).

“Morning!” Niall mumbles with pancakes in his mouth.

“Manners babe” Ashe says dropping some more on Niall’s plate “Want some George?” She asks, holding the spoon and the mixer.

“No thanks” he rummages the cupboards looking for some pills “I’ll just have a pill and some water, I feel like something crawled into my stomach and died”.

“Guess Irish beer is not for everyone” Niall snickers before Ashe hits his head with the spatula.

“Care to share why you got yourself into a _let’s drink my sorrows away_ mode yesterday?” She asks, sitting next to Niall and grabbing a plate for her own.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about” he replies why drinking the water.

_“George”_

“Yeah well okay” he sighs deeply “It’s Josh. No big deal, _just drop it_ ”.

“It is a big deal if you fancy him and do nothing about it”

“No it’s not”

“Yes it is”

“ _No, it’s not_ ”

“ _Yes, it is_ Ashe, it would just be a mess”

“Why? He likes you back, Harry told us so”

“Where’s Harry?”

“Sleeping with Louis, _don’t change de subject_ ”

“Ugh stop Ashe it’s not worth it!”

“Your happiness is worth it!”

“No it’s not worth it cause I’m a mess and it would me just messy and he’s Louis friend so he’d probably feel pressured to say yes cause of Harry and what if we break up or they break up it would be awkward and then Harry would”

He doesn’t even get to finish the sentence when Ashe slaps him, _hard_ , on the face.

“ _What the_ , what are you doing?!” he shouts, mouth hanging open.

“You wouldn’t stop otherwise. Now man up, and ask him out!” she says firmly, taking some pancakes to her mouth, Niall watching the whole scene with amusement in his eyes, biting hard on his lips to stop himself from laughing.

“I, I” he’s still in shock, he can’t believe she just _slapped_ him, but deep down he knows she’s right, he’s acting like a kid when the worst thing that can happen is that Josh says No (tho it actually is something quite awful, he’s quite sure he won’t die of a broken heart).

“Yeah I guess, I guess I could call him?” He asks to no one in particular.

“That’s my boy” Ashe says with a proud smile.

“Atta boy!” Niall chirps in, doing a military salute with his hands “go get your man”.

And without further ado, he slowly walks to his bedroom, pep talking himself meanwhile cause _c’mon it’s just a text, you can do it_.

What he certainly wasn’t expecting when he grabbed his phone is to see a _New Message from Josh_ on the screen.


	12. chapter 12

_Okay calm down it’s just a text_ George thinks, trying to calm himself down, but it proves impossible cause _Josh_ is texting him? Out of the blue? No chance he won’t freak out.

 

Slowly and with his eyes closed, he opens the texts.

 

_“hey you free tomorrow night? Fancy a movie?_ _J_ _-j”_

 

And if someone claims hearing him screaming like a little girl after reading the text, well, he’ll deny it.

 

+

 

The hours prior to the date are complete disaster, if you ask Harry (Josh is due to pick George up at 6.30 so why is George getting ready two hours early is completely out of reason for Harry but well, _love is love_ and all that, _whatever_ , he’ll have a romantic dinner with Louis anyway).

 

He spreads all of his clothes on the bed, and stares at them for what feels like hours, till he decides that it’s _ridiculous, it’s just a boy_ , that that kind of crazy behavior should be left for Harry and Harry alone, so he grabs the first trousers he can reach (which happen to be the fittest he owns, that make a delicious curve on his things, pressing just enough and not too much) and a green t-shirt with a scoop neck that shows his collarbones just a little.

After a failed attempt to tame his way too long hair, he mutters a low _fuck it,_ and goes wait for Josh on the sofa with Harry, which soon proves to be a bad idea.

“Soooooooooooooo” Says Harry with a mischievous grin, lowering the volume of the tv and sitting closer to George, throwing his legs over George’s.

 _“So what?”_ he snaps.

“Woah there, down frown so much, your prince won’t like you with crinkles on by your eyes”

“Ed Sheeran would love to disagree on that” he says before he can stop himself, the joke was just begging to be made.

“soooooo” he says again “Josh huh” wriggling his eyebrows in an obnoxious way.

“what with him?” he deadpans.

“You’re having _a date_ ” he goes on, with a stupid glint in his eyes.

“yeah so” he answers, looking to his cleaned covers so Harry won’t see the blush on his cheeks.

“Nothing” he says in a much sweeter and calm way, resting his palm on George’s knee “I’m just happy you know? For you, you deserve _this_ , a pretty boy taking you out”.

“Since when are you an expert on relationships Styles? I don’t like what regular sex has done to you mate” he replies, laughing, because laughing about it seems less scary than facing that in fact there is a pretty boy about to take him out, but he’s not so sure how much he really deserves it, or if he deserves it at all, it’s been way to long since he last fancy someone and maybe Josh doesn’t _ugh, stop overthinking George_ , he mumbles to himself.

Harry is looking at him with a frown on his lips and when he’s about to open his mouth to complain the doorbell rings, _saved by the bell_ never made so many sense before.

He rushes to open the door, not before turning towards Harry and gesturing to his clothes, opening the door after getting double thumbs up from his friend.

Time seems to go slower when he opens the door and face Josh, standing there in his whole glory, and really, George doubts there will be a day when Josh doesn’t take his breath away.

He’s wearing Doc Martens, black tight jeans like George’s, an a light blue shirt that does nothing but accentuate the blue of his eyes, a sweet light calming blue that George would love to get lost in. And the thing is he’s just _so pretty_ , inhumanly so, and he doesn’t even seen to notice, in fact it’s as if he’s _shy_ about it, is the rosy tone his cheeks get whenever Louis compliments him is something to go by.

And okay he’s been standing on the door for a full minute contemplating this boy in front on him without saying a word, _clever Shelley, really, he probably thinks you’re insane._

“Uhm” he says brilliantly, adding to the list of reasons of why he shouldn’t be exposed to pretty people.

“Hey” Josh says, smirking in a knowing way.

“Hey, ready to go?” he rushes out, not wanting to embarrass himself even further, closing the door behind him.

“Yeah” he replies still smirking.

They are just about to get into the lift when the door opens again, Harry peeking his head out and shouting at them “have fun, use protection!” before closing the door again, making both of them flush all over.

 _Well_ , George thinks, getting into the lift, _it’s going to be an interesting evening._

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!!.


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